The Secret Guardian
by Primelchen
Summary: The Troll village never had any problems. And Peppy always got the credit. What noone knew, he always gave the thanks to someone else. Someone hiding in the backround and doing all he could to help and protect. After making peace with the bergens, it's time for the village to meet their silent guardian angel… even if that troll doesn't want to.
1. Chapter 1

Just a tought I had, while reading all the amazing review. Thank you for that again.

I would like to give a little preview for my next story and I'd love some ideas for a catastrophe in the village, if you have one. If it fits I'd love to borrow it.

What happened in the village over the years between? And who would help, if there was a problem? Who is the guardian angel no one ever sees and only King Peppy knows about.

Follow Peppy and the village secret guardian angel on their journey to watch over the village and to protect the other trolls from the dangers of the forrest, they often don't even know.

And be with the trolls when tey finally meet their guardian angel. Can you guess, who it is? I bet you can.

Love, Prim


	2. Chapter 2 - to start a story

Chapter one – start the story

Peppy smiled and looked over the village, who were in celebration with the bergens. The end of trollstice forever. And his daughter made it happen.

„She is something special.", said a soft voice behind the old king. He turned around and faced the village guardian angel – the secret guardian angel.

„That she is.", Peppy agreed. „I think it's time for everyone to know about you."

„No. There is no need for that. It's fine as it is. And I can just keep it up. No need to make a fuss." The worried and anxious face made Peppy laugh.

„You can't hide forever. They will find out. And it would be better to just say it.", Peppy tried to sooth the distressed troll. That earned him a soft smile.

„I guess, your right. Go ahead then. Just don't blow it out of proportion. That's just gonna make them blow over the top." The guardian angel sighed and turned.

„Where are you going?"

„I don't want to be up here. I won't be much of help."

„As you want.", Peppy smiled at the retreating troll and stepped onto the huge mushroom, where Branch and Poppy had been pushed up by Smidge. He held up his hand and the trolls calmed down right away.

„What's wrong, Dad?", Poppy asked and stepped up to her father.

„Nothing, there is just something I need to tell everyone and especially you.", Peppy said and smiled. „Our village always ran smoothly and all of you always gave me the credit for it. And I have to admit, I didn't deserve it. I always had a helping troll, who gave me his hair here and there. Actually, I have to give a lot of credit to this troll. And I want to tell you about it."

The Trolls looked at each other in surprise. Poppy looked at her father questioning.

„Poppy, as Queen, you have to know that you can't run the village completely alone. You need a trusted troll to help you and be your right hair. I had this in this troll, who never wanted any credit. Our guardian angel choose to stay a secret. But I think it's time to tell you about this troll.", Peppy looked into the curious faces of his fellow trolls. He could understand. Who would just hide and not take credit for good work.

„Where do I start? Maybe the best it to tell you somethings that troll did.", Peppy decided and sat down. Poppy followed suit.

„So, our guardian angel…"

So a secrer guardian. I guess you can tell, who it is, can't you? Let me know, please. I hope you like the story. Not mucb romance and it's pre-movie mostly. I won't put characters in here. I love you to guess.

Just a few hints. I always give one per chapter.

1\. This troll lives in the village

Love, Prim


	3. Chapter 3 - the draught

Chapter two – the draught

8 years ago

It was the hottest summer in years. And king Peppy was at his witts end. The water supplies ran short and there was no sighn of it cooling down anytime soon. The plants were on the verge to die and the trolls were over heated. This heat was horrible. Peppy didn't know what to do anymore. He had already put trolls to the task to just take water from the far well towards the village since the river ran dry. Most trolls stayed inside and rarely came out of their pods.

„King Peppy, the well is drying up.", a drstressed, green troll burst into the room. „We won't have any water soon. What are we gonna do?"

Peppy's blood ran cold. No well? What should they do?

„I think of something. No worries.", Peppy smoothed the green troll. „It will be fine."

After the green troll left, Peppy buried his head in his hands. Nothing would be fine. His people would die, if he didn't find a solution soon.

„King Peppy?", he heard a soft voice. Peppy looked up and saw a young troll standing shyly in a corner. When did he get there?

„Hello, what can I do for you?", Peppy asked tiredly. Hopefully it wasn't something bad. The waterproblem was bad enough.

„Well, I was hoping to help you. I know the water supply is low and I have an idea to change that." Peppy looked up. „We can built a line from here to the mountain spring. It's not too far away and if we start right now, we could be finished befor the water is dried out. I already drew the blueprints and started to gather the material. We need a lot of bricks, sand, chalk, water and clay. I have a manual here and I can help with everything. The bases are already bild and I'm busy with the locking system. That way we can reach the water frim the village and don't have to sent someone up the mountain."

Peppy was stunned when the young troll handed him the blueprints and showed him the design for the locking mechanism. It was brilliant.

The troll obviously took Peppy's silence as a bad sighn.

„It was just an idea and I wanted to show it to you. You don't have to…"

„It's brilliant. When can we start? What do you need?" Peppy was over the moon. This would solve their water problems forever. The young one in front of him looked startled.

„The second page gives the instructions. I start on the wooden support right now. I already have everything up there. With the wooden support, it should be simple. And I think, the bricks should be prepared first. Without them, we can't start."

Peppy nodded and looked at the instructions. „So, we need to built the different parts from different materials? Why?"

„Because of the terrain. If it's too wet or vulnerable to wind, clay bricks are a bad idea. Stones are better. I can check the progress after each work day."

And with that, the village built a line for the water from the mountain spring. Peppy was surprised how well everything went, until he took a late stroll towards the construction arear. There, in the middle of the night was the troll, who came up with this plan and tweaked out all the little mishaps. Replaced bad bricks, secured the support system, checked the conections, smoothed the inside of the line, applied more mortar if needed and checked the materials for the next day.

„I should have known, you would do that.", Peppy smiled softly, scaring the poor troll nearly to loss of hair. „I'm sorry. I wondered, why there were no mishaps at all, but I should have known it was you. You protect them all."

„Not much else I can do. I don't have a lot of talents. But this is what I'm good at."

Present

„And with that our guardian angel just disappeared. This troll never excepted a thank you, never wanted to be called out for all the help and never took the credit.", Peppy explained and amiled at the memory. „And I came to rely on that one troll a lot. He safed us all from dying that time and did it a lot of times in the future."

The crowed was stunned to silence. They never knew they had a guardian angel. And they couldn't help but wonder, what troll would do all of this and not say a word at all?

So. Chapter two. Let me know, if you like it. And here comes your hint:

2\. This troll can sing!

Llve, Prim


	4. Chapter 4 - the missing one

Chalter three – the missing one

7 years ago

It was a bad day at the troll village. Some troll children – small children – had gone lost in the forest. With the rain starting some time later, their trail went down the drain. The parents were next to themself with worry. Peppy didn't know what to do. The forest was dangerous. And the search trups could not go in too far. They didn't know the forest too well.

„What do we do? What can we do? Where do we start?" In secret Peppy had hoped his secret adviser would come and just have a plan ready, but he didn't. Over the last year, this troll had come in to help him solve a bunch if problems and never said a word to praise himself. Their guardian angel. Peppy figured out, why he was never allowed to say something about his helper. And he wouldn't betray the trolls trust.

But he could really use some advice right now. Little did he know, the guardian angel was already on the case…

The young troll pushed against the storm and checked around him for any signs of the six children. As a guardian of the village, he placed check stations around the village to make sure, ir would be obvious, if something came into the village. It also worked, if something went out, but since actually noone ever went outside, it never happend. The only troll to leave the village, was the one to check the waterline. So noone else. But that also meant that noone else knew the forrest like that. So it fell on the guardian. King Peppy called him that and he kinda like the idea. Guardian angels were invisible. A good thing.

There was the next check point. And someone definitly left the safety of the village. In a drier spot were little footsteps and that made it official. The children came this way. Without hesitation the guardian walked into the same direction. They needed to be found and quickly.

The children were scared. The spider had caught them and now they were stuck in its net. With no way out.

„We're all gonna die.", Peach cried in horror and more tears fell down her face.

„No, we're not. They are gonna find us!", Woody retorted angrily.

„Face it! They don't know where we are!", Mendy screamed befor she started to cry too.

The others kept silent. Wind, Carron and Buttercup didn't know, what to say. Peach called for her mother a few times, but it had no use. In this storm, who would hear her?

One troll did. The guardian had followed the childrens trail and found the spiders net. The children were easy to spot. With their bright colours and fluffy hair, they struck everything. No wonder the spiders caughed them. The guardian needed to act fast, or the children would end as spider food.

How it happened, neither child could say. One moment they were trapped inside the net, the next Peach was gone. Her brother Woody screamed out for her, but Nowas quickly stunned, when Wind disappeared from next to him as well.

One after the other his friends vanished, until Woody was the last in the net. The spiders hadn't realized, what was going on jet, but they would soon. As soon as they felt the pull, when Woody felt something rip him off the net and threw him into the forrest. He fell through some leaves and landed on soft moos – unhurt. Peach threw herself at her brother and clung to his neck crying.

„Where are we?", Woody asked and stood up. His friends gathered around him. Everyone looked scared and worried, but uninjured.

„Better question. How do we get home?", Wind asked and gestured around.

„We could follow the light.", Buttercup suggested and pointed towards a lighter path of the forrest.

Befor anyone could say anything, Peach saw a Butterfly fly past her and ran after it with a squeal. Woody gasped and rushed after her, followed by his friends.

Little did they know, the butterfly was sent by their guardian angel, who followed them, to make sure, they got to the village safely. The butterfly would lead them right to the spot, where King Peppy planed to go with a search trupp this day. He would find the children and take them home. And none would be any wiser.

A loud snap from the right made the guardian flintch. One of the spiders had followed it's prey and closed in on the children, who couldn't hear it, due to their laughter and squealing. They to the village, without knowing, but they also didn't know about the spider behind them. Darn it. The guardian hoped, the children would make it and turned to the spider. He would protect the children with everything he had. So he attacked. The guardian jumped onto the spider and wrapped the hair around it, forcing it to turn around and run straight into a group of trees. That lead to him falling of, but it also disoriented the spider. The guardian used his hair to smash it around the spiders head and force it back. Away from the children, deeper into the forrest. Just when the spider reached a gab in the ground, where another creature waited for its dinner, it lashed out and threw the troll against a big boulder. A loud snapp ran over the clearing and the guardian felt a bone snap in his leg. It hurt! But there was no time. The spider was still there and it moved back towards the children, who where not safe jet.

With a jump the guardian kicked the spider the few extra meter backwards and watched, as it slipped down the gab towards its… well, the ine who would digest it soon enough.

With that done, the guardian slipped down and held his leg. But it was worse than that. His side was cut and bitten open. That was bad. With all the cuts and injuries he would have a hard time in the future. But first he had to make it back to the village…

A week later, the silent guardian found himself well enough to actually leave his house and go to the village. His leg was still in a splint and his middle was bandaged, but he made it.

Present

„I figures out, what happened a long time after. I noticed the injuries and heard the childrens story and it fell into place. Our secret guardian angel reinforced the perimeter and made sure to mark ways to move though some parts of the forrest, which were not to bad to be in.", Peppy ended his tale and smiled proudly. „We found the kids chasing a butterfly and everything returned to normal. Until about a year later…"

Hint No. 3: This troll knows the forrest.

I'm sorry for taking sooo long. Thanks for waiting. We had a sudden death in our family and there were lots of things to take care of. Again, I'm sorry. It's nice to see, you keep checking.

Love, Prim


	5. Chapter 5 - winter freeze

Chapter four – winter freeze

6 years ago

The winter was freezing. With all the cold and snow, the trolls needed a lot of firewood. But with the hot summer, their provisions were short again. And a lot of trolls were cold in their homes.

King Peppy had already put up a community room for everyone, without heat, but everyone ran out, even the stock for emergencys and the community room. And it was too cold to send someone out to gather more wood. That was dangerous.

All the village was huddled together in the big room, keeping close to the fire and close to each other to stay warm. Even the blankets and pillows didn't cover everyone. They needed more. Peppy left his dauther in the trusting hands of her friends parents and walked to the storageroom. The wood would run out bevor winter was over. They would freeze.

„Ki-i-i-ing P-p-p-p-ep-p-p-py." Peppy turned around. His little troll. „F-f-for e-e-eyery o-o-o-one.", the young troll held out a bundle of wood. Peppy wrappes his heavy coat around the small troll.

„I have some more. I bring kver as much as I can and I have a plan here, how to make sure, it lasts until spring. And some ideas on how to make sure the community room is windproof. That way you don't loose heat. And some herbs, what keep you warm from the inside."

It was a long list and a card to where the extra wood was stocked close by. It would take just two hours to get it all here and thay would be it. There were also plans to make the room coldproof and it was quite easy. The young troll had also calculated how much wood was necessary and when and how to built the fire and how to make extra fires around the room to heat ot up better and with less wood. There was also a list of herbs to make nice teas and keep people warm like that. And Peppt also found a design for a hot water bottle.

„I was hoping, you would come. You always come, if I'm at my witts end. If Poppy can't be Queen, I'll make you next in line. You would make a great ruler." The young troll stept back.

„No!", he stated forcefully. „I don't want to be leading. I won't be any good. I'm just good at finding solutions."

And with that the guardian was gone.

Peppy followed his instructions, collected the wood and made sure they used just the right amound. And still, the wood was low again and a coldfront was closing in. They made it this far, but the guards told Peppy, that the wood would onlu last for three more days. Not enough to go through the cold front.

When Peppy went to the storage the next morning, he found three new bundles of wood with a note.

„King Peppy, a coldfront is coming. It will hit in 3 days. You all will make it."

Present

„Over the next days, some more bundles and blankets appeared around storage and we made it through the cold front.", Peppy reminded everyone. „I always get the chills of I think about, what might have been. That year I was really happy about our guardian angel. Right place right time."

The trolls cheered for the unknown saviour. Poppy was deep in thought. Who was this troll?

Aaand another chapter. If someone has any ideas for a catastrophe, I like to hear them. Some chapters will be a little confusing at first, but the Present part hopefully clears everything up. If not, let me know and Peppy will more about it in the next chapter.

4\. You can't not love this dope.


	6. Chapter 6 - eye of the storm

Chapter five – the eye of the storm

5 years ago

It was raining. It just wouldn't stop. And it was windy. And raining, and windy. The weather was just… bah.

While a lot of trolls were inside their pods, drinking hot chocolate or tea, King Peppy worried about the stability of the pods. What if the wind got worse? Some of the pods were in bad shape. And the storms just got worse by the day.

He and his council had already wondered, if the pods were sage or ifnot would be better to built supports for all pods. They weren't sure. Peppy had planed a council meeting the next day to discuss the possibilities if they needed to shield the pods.

King Peppy was conteplating all possibilities and problems, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

„King Peppy, a quater of the lods are close to loosing their anker and break! They need to be fixed!" The young troll had again turned just when he was needed.

„What do you propose?"

„It would take too long to built all supports. And it's too late to rapair all pods. And no time to reinforce all pods either. But the storm is coming from the north and it's hittingnus this hard, because it's an open terrain. No trees, no plants, no nothing. For next year we could plant greenery. Bit for now, we need a protection. A wall would work. It would provide shelter against the wind and if it's built propperly it will lead the wind around the village without leaving damage. It just needs a certain construction."

„I guess, you are prepared, aren't you?", Peppy smiled thankful. This troll was a gift from heaven.

„I am. Here are the blue prints. And I added extra drawings for the critical parts. The foundation is finished. Made it over the last week. Tell everyonento stay away for the next day and start with the materials. The list is here. Some are already on site, but I'm lacking wood… loads of it." The guardian angel looked deep in thought. „Better use the trees on the southern side. Southeast would be best. The forrest is thick there and a few trees won't hurt. Some trees are actually too close to each other. I'll mark the ones, we should use."

Mumbling to himself the guardian disappeared again, leaving Peppy with the drawings and to wonder, what just happend. This troll solved a problem again. Singelhanded, while he and his council were at their witts end.

„Truly a present from heaven.", Peppy thought and went to study the blueprints.

The next day, he sent out trolls to get the wood and told them just to use the marked trees. When they asked, what mark they were supposed to be looking out for, Peppy just smiled and told them, they'd know. And surely they did. The tree markings were clearly visible. And the trolls went to work right away.

How the base had been finished, no one asked. King Peppy would have had a head start already. It was like him.

Peppy on the other hand wondered, why the work went sooo smooth. It had to be their guardian angel again. And surely he found the young troll at the construction site, in the middle of the night, checking all progress of the day and smoothed out the edges and hicks. Right now the little guardian was securing the supporting tree branches over the right part of the construction.

Peppy watched, as the young troll reinforced the supportive logs and corected the alignment of the conective beames. The wall was halfway done and Peppy knew, if it wasn't for their guardian angel, they would need much longer.

„I should have known, I'd find you here.", Peppy stated softly and startled the silent helper more than a little. Thank hair the troll was back standing on steady ground.

„King Peppy!", the guardian exclaimed. „You scared me!"

„I'm sorry. What are you doing here ao late? You should sleep. Maybe you could work with the others tomorrow.", Peppy suggested, while they made their way back to the village.

„You know, they won't listen. And until now, everything is fine."

„Yes, because you come here everynight and smooth out all hickups. If it wasn't for you, this thing wouldn't hold. I wouldn't have known, hownto built a wall. I really should make you my official right hand."

„Please don't. I really rather work in the backround. Anyway, I…" A loud cracking sound interrupted the conversation. Peppy looked up and gasped in horror. A branch with a few pods hanging on it was giving in under the heavy wind.

„It's gonna break!", the guardian screamed and rushed up the stem to the break in the branch. „It's not gonna hold. We need to stabilize it! Get everyone out of their pods!"

With thag he was gone, running as fast as he could to get some tools to repair the damage. The branch would heal by himself with all the troll arounds, but it would need time. And with the wind, it wouldn't make it much longer, unless he found a way to hold it.

The guardian grabbed his tools, some wooden planks and a lot of rope and rushed back. He secured the broken branch to a few above and stabilized in thw right position. Then he rushed back to the breaking point and started bracing the break, much like a splint on a broken arm. He nailed the parts of the branch together and quickly built a support against the tree trunk.

Peppy had managed to get all trolls out of their tree homes and to a safe ground. Except one pod. A girl had a sleepover with her friends and her parents weren't home. Peppy was on his way, when a neighbour told him about the girls, but just when he arrived at the branch, quickly looking at the impressive work the guardian had put together in practically no time at all, the pod lost its support and started to fall. Peppy opend his mouth in a silent scream, when dark hair wrapped around the top and held the pod hovering midair. Peppy lost no time and rushed over to help. The village guardian layed down on the branch and held the pod in a fierce hair grip. Peppy jumped down and held it from below. He could hear ths girls crying and screaming. The guardian lowered the pod slowly and settled it with Peppys help on the ground. Peppy opened the pod and shuhed the girls out and to the safe ground with a the others. He returned to the nearly-crash site and looked for the guardian angel. He spotted him on the tree branch, securing all other pods and checking the connection at the fracture in the tree. Peppy climped up the tree and approached the young troll.

„Can I help you somehow?", he asked and lokked around.

„No, thanks, King Peppy. I'm done. This should hold until the wall is finished. I know how we can make the wall more pretty and blend in with the surrounding area. We can plant some stuff at the bottom and let it entwine around it."

And with that the guardian slipped away, not hearing one word of thank you or a well done.

Present

„The next day, I found plans to reconnect and repair the broken pod and green the wall.", Peppy said. „I never actually got the chance to say thank you, because whenever I saw this troll in the village, there were a bunch of people around and I never got a privat minute with our guardian angel. I never really got it to why it should remain a secret and why I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Quite shy this troll."

All trolls stared at their former king. They had still trouble to grasp the fact, that some troll kept them safe in secret and never wated a thanks for that.

No 5: The guardian is better in building stuff than baking stuff.

So, to say sorry, I really hurries to finish the next chapters. So, here is another one. Hope you like it.

Love, Prim


	7. Chapter 7 - in sickness and desperation

Chapter six – in sickness and desperation

4 years ago

It actually was a nice week. Or rather, it would be a nice week, if not half the children in troll village had been infected with a bad virus they couldn't find a cure for. Poppy was sick as well, she was one of the first to catch this and she was gettin worse by the hour. It first looked like a normal flu, but it quickly changed. High feaver, pain and cramps, delirious phases, loss of weight and other symptoms. If they didn't find a cure fast, all the young trolls would die. Everyone under 20 was in danger. Most family's kept their young ones away from everyone, but it was useless. The cirus spreaded quickly. Peppy was worried. Poppy didn't get any better and none of the other children did.

„King Peppy!", Dr Plum ran into the room. „I know a cure! Flyroot! I found it in an old medicine book. This virus is called Troll-Crow. Because of the croaky voice the patiens have. And Flyroot can cure it."

Peppy jumped up. „Great! Where can we find it and how much do we need?"

With that the doctor looked solem. „Well, as a prevention, I would just need a frw thick roots. But as a cure… we'll need a lot. At least six big baskets. And one more to vaccinate everyone."

Peppy nodded. That they could do.

„And it only grows… on mayhem mountain.", the doctor added nearly inaudible. Peppy looked at her in horror. Mayhem mountain was the most dangerous place around troll village. Noone made it up there. And since the last troll nearly died, noone tried again. How should they do that.

The next day King Peppy met with the council. They discussed the possibilities and who and when and how and what and other ways. There were no other ways. They needed the flyroot and it grew only on mayhem mountain. Thank hair a lot of trolls volunteered to try and get up the mountain. Peppy had kinda hoped the guardian would come and help him, but the yoing troll was nowhere to be seen. So the teams made their way to mayhem mountain to find a way up to the top. The six first groups this day had lots of trouble. One group couldn't find a good start and had to give up right away. They returned to the village only to be met with sad and disappointed lookes and the news that the children are getting worse.

The second group found an ok entrance, but after climbing up a little, they ran into a obstical, they couldn't navigate around. One tried and nearly fell and they decided they would return. The troll, who slipped, was injured and they went to the doctor. It wasn't nice. Children were crying everywhere and their parents tried to comfort them as much as they could. The youngest patient had just bloomed a few weeks ago and wasn't doing good at all. Her mother sat next to her cot and cried in worry, while her father was in one of the other four groups still trying to reach the mountain top.

He was in the third group, who gave up. They climbed a quater of the way, but ended up in a sopt, where the ground was more than unstable. A lot of rocks broke loose and if they hadn't thought of securing themselfs, they would have had worse injuries. They were glad to make it out with just a few broken bones and some scratches. When they arrived at the village, it was already getting dark and the young father went straight to his wife and daughter, who were both crying. He apologised to his wife and his baby for not making it and hugged both of them close, hoping to comfort them in any way. Dr Plum warned Peppy, that the youngest trolls would be the first to give in under the illness and it was not looking good. Peppy started to loose hope, but he didn't give up. The other three groups he had sent out, hadn't returned jet.

The forth group made good progress, until a landslide forced them to retreat. When they tried to keeo going, the ground was so slick and muddy, they just sunk in and had to safe one troll from drowning in the moor. This troll was also one of the farthers, who had sick children waiting at home and didn't want to believe, they couldn't do anything. Jet, they had to return and were greeted with desperation.

The fith group was actually the second to civebup, but it took them soo long to get back. They found a rather good entrance and made their way up, when they were caught by a spiderfamily. They fend off the spiders, but were caught in their webs and were busy freeing themselfs and returned home, after they realized they hit a path with a lot of spiders and other creatures. It was too dangerous.

All the villages hope now rested on the last group. They had managed to find a real good entrance and made their way up the mountain. They were met with a few obsticals, but they seemed to always find a way around, even if they didn't know, what they were doing. The only scare they had was, when one of the members was hit with a fallen branch and fell down the mountain side. Thankfully he tangled in some vines and his friends managed to get him back up. They made good way to the top that very first day, but then came nightfall and they had to make camp on a big plateau. Little did they know, that in that night all of them nearly died and someone safed them from being spiderfood. Little did they know, the vines didn't happen to be there. But that wasn't important. The next day they climbed farther up and reached a plateau, just like the first one. And just as great to rest on. They were glad some troubles had forced them to come this way. Or they wouldn't have found it. Again, they didn't know that the obsticals were not natural and they weren't lucky to find this place. The third day they finally made it. They made it to the top and set down the seven baskets. They couldn't bring all of them down at once, but always two at a time, so they started picking. The baskets were huge – for trolls anyway – and they were busy picking the whole day. When night came they made camp again and layed down, exhausted from the climb up mayhem mountain. A silent figure slipped around in the darkness and checked the surroundings and their equipment. It was very basic and not for a decent with heavy baggage. They wouldn't make it like this. There had to be a better way. So the shadow took the equipment and set to work. They needed something to get the flyroot and themselfs down safely… thank hair, the plan was formed and already in play.

The next morning the trolls waking up were met with a shock. All their equipment was gone! And one of the full baskets too! But when they looked around the arear, they found a huge surprise just out of camp sight.

It looked strange, but usable and it would take them all the way down to the first plateau from where the decent was very easy. The question was, how to use it. It looked big enough for a basket, but not more. But they could climb along. This… construction-thing seemed to be made for the basket.

„It's smart. We won't loose any flyroots this way."

And so they decided. Two would bring the basket down and the others would keep picking. They would come back, when they brought the first load to the village. They would need to pull the basket along with them and

„I wonder who built this thing. It wasn't here yesterday. I mean, we walked around a lot and we would have seen it on the way up. It's strange.", one of the picking trolls said. „Who put it up?"

„We slept on that plateau. Look. It's the same from the first night. And look at this constructions here. Someone built that. And in a bit of a hurry.", the one troll climbing down the mountain said to the other and looked around.

„And it's still sturdy. Who was that. It were only us and I didn't see anyone else. And none of us is that handy. How would you built something like this – what it that thing anyway? I've never seen anything like it."

All the trolls discussed this matter, but it made no sense. Them being alone on the mountain and noone else around. They didn't even meet any creatures. What was going on?

Present

„I got the report from the group when they all returned. Also how they found more supplies in their camp than they had packed. They didn't know, but I did. The guardian stayed with them. I told the group they were lucky to have such a guardian, but really – we all were lucky. This troll saved the children. When I asked him months later he told me about the spiders and everything."

It was silent. Hardly anyone moved. Who was this troll, whi kept saving the village, without ever getting anything for it? Not even a thanks?

Hint no 6: This troll isn't well known, but everyone knows this troll.

(Confusing?)


	8. Chapter 8 - the swarm

Chapter seven – the swarm

3 years ago

It was fall, the trees were beautifully coloured and bloomed with the fallflowers. The trolls saw all other flowers getting into winter stagnation, but the fallflowers bloomed every year. It was a beautiful sight.

What no one knew was, that this year, a swarm of birds were coming over the land as every year… but they were late. The Poppies, who usually kept them going around troll village, were long out of season. Without this barrier, what would happen to the trolls?

Nothing. That was, what a single troll decided and got to work.

Present

„I didn't even know we were in danger. But our guardian did and I only foundout, because he got badly injured.", Peppy explained. „I don't know the whole story, but he mimicked the scent of the poppies and put up containers with the scent around the village. So the birds would have to go around. It was when our guardian angel put op some of this scent containers farther away from the village to make a wider barrier, a bird attacked. I found our guardian later in the forrest close to the village. How he got there? I don't know. He must have dragged himself a long way. But he had scratches and cuts all over him. It looked like a bird tried to eat him or at least pick him to death. He must have been in real pain and scared to death. That's when I found out about the birds. And that's why we grew fall- and winterpoppies. They protected us. And I didn't want anyone to go through, what our guardian went through. It took weeks for him to be back on his feet."

At Peppy's words a lot of trolls looked like they wanted to cry. Only one troll didn't look up or looked sympathetic. Insted this troll remembered the horrible pain, when the bird grabbed him and bit down hard. It left scars, but noone ever saw them. The birds had sweped down when the last container was nearly on place. No way to outrun them. Nowhere to hide. So he fought, and came out ahead, when he splashed them with the selfmade poppy-perfume. By the time, he had had enough injuries to last a life time.

I know, this one is really short. Next one will be much longer. Promise.

Your hint 7: This troll is scared of a lot of things, but especially birds.


	9. Chapter 9 - unnkown catastrophe

Chapter eight – unknown catastrophe

2 years ago

After the birds, King Peppy wanted to be prepared. But how does someone prepare for a threat you didn't know existed. How do you prepare for a creature, that attacks the forrest? Thay kills trees? That is coming for your home, but is not close enough to be seen? You pray for a guardian, who recognise the creature and find a counter measure. And if you don't know about the creature and can't pray, the guardian just has to rock it. And… well, he did.

Walking through the forrest, the dead tree chaught the eye. It was black and smoked even though it had been just fine yesterday. That was strange. What happened? Searching for a reason, the guardian found it pretty fast and it was not good. The creature was aggressive and attacked the trees. And it was making it's way towards the village. If it hit the trees there, the pods would fall, a lot would get injured and they would loose their home. The guardian swallowed. This was bad, worse than bad. This creature was a black matauer. And that happend with its surroundings. It was black and scorched.

The guardian knew what to do. There was only one thing that would keep this thing away from the village and destroy it. There was one thing that would do the trick, but it was more than hard to come by. It was some kind of mushroom, a Gromwroom. It grew on a pretty dangerous moor behind the flower fields and needed to be mixed with certain herbs to make a past. That was all it took. As soon as the past would touch this thing it would grow weaker and weaker until it died. The gromwroom was the most difficult to get. The herbs grew all around the forrest. And the guardian had collected the herbs a few day prior to dry them. They made a great medicine for colds and flues. But now, it would safe the village. That was the hope at last.

And so the guardian went on with the quest, walking to the moor and finding the gromwroom. It wasn't as easy as books made it seem to the troll kids. The creatures in the forrest were less than happy with being disturbed or having their dinner run from them. The guardian fent of spiders first. His path led them close to their lair and since it was early in the year, their eggs had jusy hatched a few days prior. And the little spiders were hungry. The guardian crept along the outer lair and hoped against any hope, he would not be spotted. But where the adult spiders were patient to wait for their prey to fall into the nets, the little ones weren't. They were impatient and aggressive and while they were definitely smaller than the adults, they still towered over a troll. While the guardian was very careful, he also came very close to the nets and that's when it happened. One of the young spiders saw the movement and charged, alerting all the others and made the troll flintch and loose his grip. Tumbling down into the net was painful, but the guardian knew, being eaten would be worse, so he tried to get loose. Many trolls would just wriggle around and tangle themselfs badly in the sticky net. But the guardian knew the forrest and he did know, that wriggling wouldn't help. So he slowly and carefully pried his right arm free and pulled himself onto the non sticky strand running across the net. The spiders had to get to their pray too and this was the guardians advantage. The young troll was familiar with the net-making technique and danced along the strands. Actually, it really was a dance, once taught to the young trolls back in the Troll Tree. One of his favourites and the song played in the guardians head, while he dances across the net and evaded the spiders gracefully. The guardian felt the shakes of the web, whenever the spiders moved and escaped their grasps with every move until he reached the other side of the web. Somehow that even was a good thing, because he cut about four hours of his journey.

It took the guardian a whole day to return to the spiders lair, after he braved the other dangers and found his way through the moor to the gromwroom. Using his skills, he found an easy route over the sticky, quashy balck stuff, that would swallow him as fast as he could wip his hair. The gromwroom grew in the middle on a small island covered in black moos. The air was full of dusty fog and it was really hard to see. Around the moor were small islands of dirt and sometimes died grass. How to reach each of them, was the question. But there was no choice. The guardian tested the ground with long sticks and found it not too deep. He pushed the sticks deep into the moor and pushed himself up. He would walk to the first island on his hands and keep up from there. He would have to make it. There was no other chance! The village was in danger and they didn't even know yet. This was stupid. But there was also nothing they could do except worry.

With a lot of troubles the guardian reached the first grass island and settled down. One step closer. And so he went. From one island to the other. To the fourth he jumped over the creepy flog-like creatures in the water. Just one more and he would reach the gromwrooms. Looking up the guardian saw some branches hanging low and wipped out his hair. Swinging himself to the gromwroom island he landed safely on the black moos. It felt scorched and sticky under his bare feet and a shiver of disgust ran down the guardians spine. Bah, what was this stuff? It looked like some sort of gooey, burned, moos-like junk. It was simply disgusting. And it stuck to the guardians feet and everything else around it.

Carefully the guardian picked his pack full of gromwrooms and shouldered it. Than he looked for a way back. Island-hopping would be more difficult with the pack on his back, but it was the best way out of this mess. But… wait. The branches! He could try and climb over them and find his way out. And from there he would just find another way.

That's what happened. With his hair the guardian wrapped around the deep hanging branches and pulled himself up. From above it looked even worse. The swamp was glubbing and moving like some alive creature. Like it was ready to reach out and grab anything coming to close. Thank hair, he was out of there. It looked more than dangerous. Little smoke puffs escaped the muddy ground like breath and curled in the air like long, spindely fingers, trying to reach the guardian in the branches above. He suddered at the tought and carefully skipped ober the branches towards the moor entrance, towards where he had started. To make his way back.

The journey hadn't taken too long, but when the guardian arrived at the dead trees and followed the trail of destruction and dead trees and plants he frize in fear. The creature had made its way towards the village as feared, but it was much faster. That meant the guardian was in a hurry now. And he rushed. Picking the right herbs, smashing the gromwroom and cooking all of this over an open fire until it was light green. Hopefully it was strong enough.

Carfully making his way towards the black matauer, what was currently sucking the life out of another tree and leaving it as scorched as all the others, the guardian concidered his options. Attack or sneak. Sneaking seemed better and so he creeped closer and closer, until he was right behind the creature. That was when it jerked around and stared right at the small troll behind it. It's body was snake-like, but it had twenty pairs of long spindely legs with sharp talons, piercing the trees bork and everything else. Its skin was black and glimed in the sunlight. The teeth were wven sharper than the talons and dropped with the white venom. But the eyes were the scariest thing, gleaming red with small bright orange pupils boring into your own eyes. Its gaze was paralysing and froze the guardian right to the spot. The black matauer moved slowly towards itsnew pray and wrapped its tail around the guardian. The slimy substance on the black scale-like body burned on the young trolls skin and left angry red marks. The young troll screamed in pain and it cost him all strength he had, not to drop the gromwroom antidote. Instead he dumped the green slime onto the black matauers head, when it got ready to attack. The beast roared and threw its small but strong pray against a tree. The black skin turned green and thw matauer flaired around, until the sking shrivled together and pretty much choked its inhabitant to death. The skin sizzled and layed burned on the scorched grass.

The guardian looked up and went to get up. All that happened was a scream ripping through the forrest and smashing against the trees…

Present

„I found our guardian a day later, in a very bad shape. Three broken ribs, a fractured wrist and upper arm. The left leg was cut open and bruised. The worst was the back. This thing had bitten down, befor smashing him against the tree. I found him unconscious and near death. It was bad. And this time I really was worried we were going loose this young troll. I nursed him back to health and he made sure we took care of the infected trees. Still, weeks later I caught our guardian rubbing the bits, they were still troubling him. Maybe even today.", Peppy concluded the story and looked worried and schocked. „I never saw anuone stronger or braver."

Since the last chapter was pretty short, this one is longer. I hope, you still like it. Do you know, who Peppy is talking about? I got a comment... I'm not sure, what it meant, so I just gonna thank you for saying you like the story. I hope all your waiting will be okay, because I was a little faster now.

Now your hint on the chapter: No. 8: This troll loves poetry, but don't think he will show you!

Love, Prim


	10. Chapter 10 - Flood

Chapter nine – flood

1 year ago

It was raining… again. It was pretty comon for fall to rain a lot, but this reminded everyone more of walking through a very, very big waterfall. While all trolls sat in their cozy pods, one was out in the rain, checking around the village for any danger. One thing worried the guardian, who was fighting against a cold in this weather: The dam. It was built to holt a lot of water, but with this flood it could actually break, or worse, completely crumble. And then there would be a disaster!

Right now, the worried troll was on his way to look at the dam and check it out. Maybe he would be able to find the waek spots and do something against it, befor the village drowned. He was making very slow progress to the dam because of the mud. Why was it always this muddy, when it rained… even when in just drizzled. It didn't matter for how long or how hard, the whole village turned into a swamp when it rained. Bah! Finally reaching the dam, the guardian stopped in horror. There was a crack! A big, long crack! In the middle of the dam! And water was purring out! This was bad! No, not bad! Worse than bad! This was a disaster! Ok, that was a little too dramatic. But it was the edge of disaster! And it got worse.

A low rumble echoed around the trees and the guardian saw a second crack split, close to the first. The two crachs nearly formed and oval. The piece could break out at any time! Someone had to do something.

With a mad dash, the young troll rushed to the royal pod and more or less – ok more – burst into the kings dinner. Being wet, muddy, dirty and dissheveled made him look more crazy than him smashing the door against the wall.

„King Peppy!", he pretty much screamed, while rushing into the room, leaving a trail of mud and water behind him, like a mud-snail. „The… I… it… disaster!..."

„Now, now. Take a breath. What is going on?", King Peppy asked and stood up to meet the worried troll. „What happend?"

„The dam!", the guardian gasped. „It's gonna break! We have to do something!"

Peppy nearly panicked. The dam would break? That would flood the village! Everyone would drown. At least the ones on the lower branches, if the trees kept up. What could they do?

„We need to evacuate the lkwer pods and all those on the weaker trees. And we need to repair the dam. Like, right now!", Peppy said and jumped up, befor he paused. „How do we repair the dam in this storm?"

„I have a plan. I need suger, sand, chalk and sick-tree sap. And some lemon. I can make a past out of that to fill the crack. At least, until the storm eases.", the guardian suggested and went to leave.

„Wait! Do you have all that?", Peppy asked worried and the younger troll nodded.

„I just need some sugar. But that's easy." And with that the guardian was gone.

King Peppy startedthe evacuation of the dangerous zones and ordered as many trolls as possible to collect the things, the guardian needed, and bring them to the royal pod. Peppy stored them in the outside storage and was happy, that they started to disappear over the next two days.

Present

„What exactly happend, I do not know. Our guardian repaired the damage and made a temporary security construction. It didn't look pretty, but the village didn't get flooded. As soon as the raining season was over we repaired the dam and constructed a emergency-release-excit for water, if it ever got too full again. Who do you think came up with that?", Peppy finished and looked at all the other trolls. „I'm still thankful for our guardian, because half a year later, we had this bad thunderstorm and we needed to take pressure off the dam. The relase-system was already useful."

Hint of thw day: 9- this troll hates glitter

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm nearly done.

Love, Prim


	11. Chapter 11 - who you didn't expect

Chalter ten – who you didn't expect

Today

The whole troll assembly was stunned. All these years they had a silent guardian angel without knowing it.

„Who is it?"

„Do we know this troll?"

„Is he here?"

„Why didn't he say something?"

Questions over questions purred out of the trolls and everyone was looking around.

„Dad,", Poppy started and shut everyone else up with a single word. „We made it through this catastrophes because of one troll, who doesn't want to be named? And he helped us with all things around the village?"

„Yes." Peppy nodded at Poppy's summary. „It's a brave troll."

„Who is it?"

Peppy looked at his daughter and smiled. He looked over the assembled trolls and bergens and found the troll he was looking for. He had slipped to the side, whithout anyone knowing or realizing. He was slipping away - at least, he tried to.

„I tell you, what our guardian did this year. He is the reason, we could hide,", Peppy started and Poppy frowned. She hid the trolls. „He went on a biiig quest to safe someone." She went on the quest to safe her friend with Branch. „He came after the princess even if he didn't want to." That's when everyone knew.

„BRANCH!?", all trolls screamed at once and with that, Branch couldn't slip away anymore. All eyes were on him.

„Branch, you…" Poppy was speechless. The village grump, the troll, who always pushed everyone away, he was their guardian, the one who protected them all this years? This rendered everyone speechless. Staring at the blur troll, everybody stared at him and some smiled. His face was dark blue and he tried to look at noone - whitch is a hard thing to do, if you are surrounded by trolls.

Peppy waved Branch up the mushroom and the trolls parted for the blushing blue troll. Slowly Branch made his way up, visibly uncomfortable with being stared at from everyone, and halted infront of Peppy and Poppy. He smiled shyly and diverted his eyes to his feet. It was quite. Quiter than the trolls had ever been befor. Branch shifted nervously from foot to foot and glanced around. All eyes were on him and he felt ready to cry. The center of attention, this was a bad place for someone this introvert and shy and reserved. He had never been the center of attention. He had always been pushed to the side and ignored. And now… he made a step back, ready to run and hide. He hadn't been a secret guardian just because after all. He protected, but he didn't need the attention afterwards. He hated it. It made him want to hide and cry and scream... all at once. Why? Why did Peppy have to tell everyone? Why did he start with this? Why... why didn't he keep this quite?

„Branch?", Poppy asked and took his hands into hers, breaking him out of his thoughts. „Why did you never say something?"

He looked at her and crinched. His nerves were ridget. He needed to get away. He tried to pull away from Poppy, but she had him in a tight hold. „Why, Branch?", she asked again and pulled him closer. He sighed. No where to go. And he couldn't ignore Poppy anymore, not after all they've been through together.

„Well, it started, because I was lonely.", Branch confessed and hung his head. „Loosing my grandma also meant loosing my colours and all my connection. It wasn't really there, I wasn't really me anymore. And I wasn't able to keep my friends. It wasn't possible for me to feel anything positive. But that didn't mean, I didn't care. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I didn't want anyone to be like me, to loose someone, to feel this sad. I wanted to stay close, I did, but I... I just… I was petrified to loose someone else I love, so I kept away. I'm sorry. I don't… I kept saying, I was fine with the way I was, but believe me, you don't want to be grey. I never wanted to be grey. And I didn't want anyone to feel like I did." Tears welled up in the blue trolls eyes and he tried and turn away. Only to come face to face with his former best friend. „I'm sorry. I hurt you, Guy. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I'm really not a good luck charm."

„There is nothing to forgi-i-ive.", Guy Diamond stated autotonic. „You always were my best friend and I love you to be it again. You are a good friend. You just didn't kno-o-o-ow. And you are the biggest luck any of us ever had. Where would we be without yo-o-ou?"

Branch burst into tears, pulled his hands from Poppy's grip and hid his face in his hands. Poppy and Guy Diamond hugged him and tried to comfort the distressed blue troll, wispering little nothings and comforting words into his ears. In the middle of this hug-sandwich, Branch felt safe and calm. He had missed the physical contact a lot. He wished, he could turn back time and just live. He had felt lost for so long. But rightnow, he felt back where he belonged.

„Guys, I've been here befor,

I know this tree, I know this floor,

And still, I can't find a way to smile,

there was a time, so long ago,

I sang songs, to be heard so,

I know, it has been a long while, hallelujah.

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Halleu-u-u-u-u-jah

Some years ago I lost my joy,

This year, when I was just a boy,

Since then I didn't care for music, did I?

I was alone, I shyed away,

Couldn't find a place, that I could stay,

Just made the whole thing worse for me, hallelujah.

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Halleu-u-u-u-u-jah.

That didn't mean, I stopped to care,

The things from those you were to spare,

I took them on in your place, always,

What I didn't have, I kept in you,

Happiness, carefreeness, too,

To keep it in you all days, hallelujah.

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Halleu-u-u-u-u-jah

I found the faith, I lost that day,

In people I found near by me,

Brought me back to be myself again,

Being there, when push came to shove,

My only way to show my love,

Was to take your pain, with a soft hallelujah.

Hmm-m-m-mm

Halleu-u-u-u-u-ja-ha" Branch ended the song with a soft note and fell silent. Tears ran over everyones face and Poppy and Guy Diamond tightened their hold. Branch let go of Guy Diamond and buried himself into Poppy's body. She was so warm and soft and he loved her so much. His heart beat rapidly and he held her tighter, while he tried to calm down. He had been hers for a long time. His heart longing for her and wanting to protect her.

„You were always there.", Poppy said softly and stroked his back. „We wouldn't be here without you and your bravery."

Branch gave a hickupping snort.

„Poppy, without you, and your sweet trust in everything and everyone, I would never have found myself. I love you. That'll never change."

Poppy grinned and fiercely hugged her new friend. Branch hugged her back and Peppy giggled.

„Peppy, did you really mean, what you said befor? That Branch would have been the next in line?", a troll asked out of the sudden. Branch gasped and turned to Peppy. He hadn't heared that one.

„What!?", he nearly screamed and backed off. „But… why… when… I…"

With each word the blue troll went brighter and Peppy quickly smoothed the young troll.

„If Poppy wouldn't have been able. You did the best you could and you find practical solutions. I hope, Poppy will listen to your council as much as I did. The village was lucky to have you, Branch."

That brought tears back into Branch's eyes and he hung his head in embarrassment.

„I wasn't so good. I just tried…"

„And you are far to modest. You singlehandedly safed the village a few times and when you told me, you would follow Poppy, I knew you'd bring her home. With you at her side, I have nothing to worry about.", Peppy smiled and patted Branch's shoulder. Branch smiled at Poppy. His cheeks burned with a flush and he took her hand.

„I do my best to help her as much as I can… just, stop sounding like you are making wedding preparations.", Branch begged and stepped back.

That made the other trolls burst into laughter and Branch took the opportunity to slip away, up the tree. He needed space and some calm, so he skipped along the branches and found a small blue pod, hidden behind some twigs and leaves. It would make him a nice place to sleep tonight . Hidden, safe, calm and protected.

He stepped inside and started to make a cozy bed for the coming night. Whatever happened tomorrow, he would worry about then. Right now he just wanted to make his bed, fall asleep and dream of Poppy - this time without feeling guilty. They made it and they were safe. And he could finally relax after twenty years of being on guard.

Just two more to go. And thank all of you for your support. I sooooo love reading comments. I knew, you knew who it was. But Peppy had to reveal the secret. Poor Branch is overwhelmed. But Poppy will make a cute appearance again. Let's see...

Love, Prim


	12. Chapter 12 - last confession

Chapter eleven – the last confession.

Today

Poppy was annoyed. First, she had to find out, that Branch protected the village in secret and never got a thank you for that, then he slipped away, without her having a chance to tell him, how much that meant to her, then her father and everyone else wanted to know, if she was going to marry Branch and now she couldn't find him. Not to mention, that they would go back to their village, but they had to spend the day and night so she needed a place to sleep and every single one was already taken.

A sudden russle from the left made her stop. What was that? Poppy stepped closer and grinned. A small, azur pod was hidden behind some leaves. If this one was occupied, it would be by Branch. And if not, well then she had a place to sleep later.

Carfully Poppy crept closer and looked through the ajar door. It was Branch in there. He had made a huge, makeshift bedding from leaves and everything he could find around. Poppy opened the door and steppt behind him. He hadn't heard her jet as he was softly humming to himself. It was nice to see him relaxed for a change and not ready to jump into action.

„Need some help?", Poppy asked calmly, but it was loud enought. Branch screamed, whipped around, lost his balance and crashed into the pillows he had found and used. It was a rather disgraceful fall and Poppy couldn't help but laugh.

„Poppy! You scared me half to death. Warn me next time or knock!" Branch was half shouting out of the pillows and climbed on his feet. „What can I do for you?"

Poppy smiled and engulfed him into a hug. „Nothing. I was looking for you."

„That doesn't make sense. You didn't want anything and were looking for me?", Branch asked confused, but returned her hug.

„I just wanted to know something."

„Then ask me."

„In the pot, when we were about to be eaten, you sang „I love you". Did you mean it?", Poppy asked and leaned her head against his chest. She felt him tense with nerves.

„Yes, I meant it. I… I kinda always loved you.", Branch wispered and buried his face in Poppy's hair. It was soft and warm and he liked it a lot.

„Branch, that's so cute. Why didn't you ever say something?" Poppy looked at him in awe.

„I was scared. Scared of being rejected, of being alone again. You were the only one, coming to me. And it meant everything. And that's why I wanted to protect you." Branch broke off. „I needed you to be you, loud, happy, carefree and singing. It kept me up over twenty years. So I protected you."

Poppy stared at the newly blue troll and placed her hand on his cheek. „How did you end up being everyones guardian angel?" Her eyes sparkled and Branch sighed.

„I realized, that the only way to keep you happy, was to make sure, everyone else was fine. So I built the protection grid and put out some traps. They don't work on trolls, but on our predators. And it just went from there." Branch looked down and smiled. „I don't know, why I became a guardian, but I never wanted a title. I just don't like funerals. And I hate grey!"

Poppy grinned happily and stroked Branch's face. „We never knew you were there. You shouldn't hide. You should be proud. Whatever the future brings – and I know, what I like ot to bring – but whateverit is, I hope you stay at my side and never leave."

Their eyes met and both smiled – Poppy a happy and excited smile and Branch a nervous ans shy smile. And neither could say, how it happend, but their lips met and while the sunset softly brushed through ths leaves outside and painted the walls in a blue-pink design, they shared their first kiss. Their hair wrapped around another and their hands carefully touched the others skin. Branch pulled Poppy close, kissing her so soft, but at the sametime passionate, and letting his hair strands caress her own and her scalp. It felt ao nice. Caring and loving. And in Poppy's mind, it was the best first kiss, a girl could ask for.

This is nearly the last one. Just one more. Thank you, for reading so far and for all you comments. I really enjoyed this story. Hope, you come back and read some of the others, I have in progress. Again, if a story is related, I will tell you, otherwise it could be completly different.

Love, Prim


	13. Chapter 13 - last thing

Chapter twelve – last thing

In the morning

Poppy woke up the next day. She was alone, wrapped in a warm blanket and the blue pod, she shared with Branch last night… who wasn't there.

But he was easy to find. The trolls had already built groups who walked together and Branch was there, making sure everyone had the right gear, provisions and knew the way. Mr Overly-Prepared. She liked him for that. And she knew, how to tell him.

„I know, everything will be just fine,

As long as I stick with you, oh my,

It doesn't matter if the weather is fair or fine.

I know, there'll always be blue sky and sun,

Shining yellow and bright behind,

Even the darkest cloud, there always light-" Poppy began until Branch joined in.

„A fire," She stopped singing, curious as to what he would come up with.

„Nothing can ever be dire,

I need some more positivity.

Even at the edge of disaster,

I always hear your laughter," His voice held ao much hope and trust, she grinned even wider and joined in again.

„Why is that so hard for anyone to see?

Don't they kno-o-o-ow,

How we go-o-o-o?

Just keep our heads down,

As long as the wind blows.

And clouds'll part,

And sun'll shine,

And rainbows are born,

At the end of every storm."

The two trolls ended and Poppy pulled Branch into a hug, which he couldn't not return.

This is it... we made it. Hope, it didn't disappoint.

Just to tell you, my stories don't follow any pattern. Might be, I write another story and everything is different. I started two more. Not sure, which one I'm gonna post first. I always try to have some chapters written, befor I post, so you don't have to wait as long as you had this time. If a story is connected, I'll tell you.

Love, Prim


End file.
